Judge rules against Hannah Graham slaying suspect in evidence hearing
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- A judge has denied a defense motion to suppress some evidence in the case of a man charged with killing a University of Virginia student.
WATCH: "48 Hours:" Hannah Graham: Deadly Connections
Media outlets report that Albemarle County Circuit Judge Cheryl Higgins ruled Thursday against Jesse Matthew Jr., who is charged with capital murder in the disappearance and death of 18-year-old Hannah Graham.
Matthew's attorney asked Higgins to disallow some evidence collected during a search of the defendant's apartment days after Graham's September, 2015 disappearance. The items included a cellphone, a paycheck, khaki shorts, boxer shorts, a cigar tip, toothbrushes, a wallet and a receipt. Many of those items weren't listed on a search warrant.
During the Thursday morning court hearing, Matthew's defense team argued the search was unconstitutional in that it "exceeded its permissible scope," reports CBS affiliate WTVR.
Higgins ruled that officers exercised reasonable discretion.
The 34-year-old Matthew also is charged with first-degree murder in the 2009 death of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.
According to WTVR, investigators obtained a DNA profile of Matthew from the cigar tip they found in the search of his apartment in the Graham case. As a result of that DNA profile, Matthew couldn't be eliminated as being a contributor to a stain on the tee shirt Harrington wore the night she disappeared from University of Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena.